Street-sweeper.



C. G. THOMPSON.

STREET SWEEPER.

APPLlcArloN HLED 1AN.21, |916.

Patented lec. l2, H916,

4 SHEE'S SHEET l C. G. THOMPSON.'

STREET SWEEPER.

APPLICATION FILED JAN-27,1916.

Patented Dec. 12, 1916.

4 sHETs-sHEET 2.

Mmmm Car! 6.7"/20772/050/2- C. G. THOMPSON.

STREET swEEPER.

APPLICATION FILED IAN. 27, |915.

Patented Dec. 12, 1916.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

WI TJV' ESSES INVENTOR.

' Carl 'T/zompson Q.

C. G. THOMPSON.

STREET SWEEPER.

APPLICATION FILED IAN. 21, I9I6.

wlm Patented Dec. 12, 1916.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

Carl 61'- Thompson MQ. BY v /II @MWA f I I Leoncio.

orrrcr..

canin o. rnonrson, or SULLIVAN, rumana.

STREET-SWEJEPEB..

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented nee. ia, raie.

application filed .1' anuary 27, 1916. Serial No. 74,620.

To all whom t may concern.'

Be it known that l, CARL G. THOMPSON, a citizen of the United States,residing at Sullivan, in the county of Sullivan and State of `lindiana,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Street-Sweepers, of

which the following is a full, clear, and exact .mounted on some form ofself-propelle`d vehicle or automobile. truck, the object of theinventionbeing to sweep the street without previous sprinkling, and atthe same time dispose of the dirt and dust in such a way as to preventany undue scattering of thel dust particles into the atmosphere, boththe heavy and light particles being collected in a common receptacle orbag mounted on tle truck frame. lin the present embodiment of Amyinvention the heavy particles are caused to be precipitated fromthelighter particles or dust by means of properly circulated air currentsoperating in conjunction with suitable deiecting plates and baffles,provision being made to regulate the intensity or force of the currentsas will more fully hereinafter appear.

A further object is to make suitable provision for effectively sweepingthe gutters or corners between the street and curb-stones ;*to providemeans for adjusting the brushes to effect proper contact with thesurface swept over; and to provide further and other details ofconstruction better apparentv from a detailed description of theinvention in connection with the accompanying drawings in which- Figurel represents a side elevation of an automobile truck with my inventionapplied thereto, parts being in vertical longitudinal section; Fig. 2 isa top plan of the sweeper on a reduced scale, with parts broken away',Fig. 3 is aside elevation; Fig. 4 is a vertical cross-sectional detailon the line 4 4 of Fig. 1; Fig. 5 is a horizontal section on-the zig-zagline 5-5 of Fig. 1; Fig. 6 is a longitudinal middle section of the brushcylinder or drum showing the mechanism for imland Fig. 10 is ajsectionaldetail parting radial adjustment to the brushes;

Fig. 7 is an end elevation of the gutter b room or brush; Fig. 8 is ahorizontal section on the line 8-#8 of Fig. 7; Fig. 9 is a verticalsection on the line 9-9 of Fig. 7; on the line 10-10 of Fig. 6.

Referring to the drawings, T represents a conventlonal automobile truck,M the motor, and W, W', the rear and front running wheels as wellunderstood in the art. The shaft S of the motor terminates in a spurgear wheel 1 which meshes with the diametrically opposite gears 2 and 3on the superposed parallel shafts S', S, (Fig. 1), suitably mounted onthe truck frame. The gears 2 and 3 are slidably feathered to theirrespective shafts S, S, and may be moved into and out of engagement withthe motor gear 1 by the shifting levers a, a, pivoted respectively tobrackets d, d', which levers in turn are actuated by levers L, L',through suitable link connections 't as fully understood in the art(only one .link t appearing in the drawing) rthe forked terminals of thelevers a, a, engaging the hub portions L, 7L', of the respective gears2, 3. The inner end of the upper shaft S terminates in a bevel gear 4which meshes with a similar gear 5 on a transverse or counter-shaft 6 onthe truck frame,- said shaft projecting beyond the sides of the truckwhere it is provided with suitable sprocket wheels 7 from which leadsprocket chains 8, 8, over similar but'larger v sprocket wheels 9, 9, onthe axle A carrying the wheels W, W. The connections last describedconstitute the automobile drive, for it is obvious-that-upon rotation inproper direction being imparted to the motor shaft S, the shaft 6 willbe turned in proper direction to cause the sprocket chains 8, 8, toimpel the vehicle forward.

The inner end of the lower shaft S terminates in a bevel gear wheel 10which meshes with a bevel pinion 11 on a transverse or counter-shaft 12mounted parallel to and below the shaft 6, one end of the shaft 12terminating in a belt pulley P over which operates the cross belt B.IThe shaft 12 is provided at one end with a sprocket wheel 13, overwhich passes a sprocket chain 14, the latter in turn passing over thesprocket wheel 15 at `the adjacent terminal of the shaft'16 of ascrew-conveyer 17 operating in the transverse trough 18 as shown, thedischarge end of the trough terminating in a chute 19 which dischargesinto a bag or reby the truck fra-me. Atthe opposite end the shaft 12carries a sprocket wheel 21 driving a sprocket chain 22 which in turnasses over a sprocket 23 mounted on the a jacent end of a transverseshaft 24 actuating a. belt conveyer 25 provided with cross-slats 25, thesaid shaft being rovided with a roller 26 for the support o the upperend of the belt, the lower end of the conveyer passing over a similarroller 26 on a parallel shaft 27 mounted on the truck frame. The end ofthe shaft 24 opposite the discharge end of the screw conveyer 17 'isprovided with a pulley 28 over which operates a. cross-belt 29 for apurpose presently to be explained. u 'Ihe bevel gear 10 likewise-engagesa bevel 1nion 28y at the upper end of a short ver ical shaft 29 mountedin the bracket 30, the lower end of said shaft terminating in a bevelpinion 31 which in turn meshes with a bevel pinion 32 on a shaft 33disposed parallel to the shafts S, S, S", that is to say. disposedlongitudinally of the vehicle. and mounted in any suitable manner on thetruck frame, the inner end of -said shaft terminating in a bevel pinion34 which meshes with a corresponding pinion 35 on a transverse shaft 36.The opposite ends of the lshaft 36 are provided with sprocket wheels 37each of which actuates a sprocket chain 38 extending rearwardly andpassing over a sprocket wheel 39 carried by the hollow trunnions 40,40', projecting from the heads of the brushcylinder or sweeper broom 41.

It may be convenient at this point to state that inasmuch as the gears2, 3, are disposed on opposite sides of the motor gear 1, they, andtheir shafts S', S, will rotate in the same direction; and assuming thatthe motor' shaft S is rotating counter-clockwise, the

.shafts S, S, will rotate clockwise and the truck wheels W will becorrespondingly rotated, the vehicle moving forward. .By following theseveral gear connections described it will be found that the brushcylinder will rotate counter-clockwisewhich should be the case in orderto sweep the dirt before it;

" and'v the belt 25 and screw-conveyer 17 will rotate as indicated bythe arrows.

The brush cylinder 41, belt 25, and other parts presently to bedescribed are confined in an air chamber or casing C whose rear lowerportion 1s suitably contoured to conform to the cylindrical shape of thebrush cylinder, the brushes of the cylinder operating through atransverse slot or openingO whose forward edge is bounded by the lowerends of a series of juxtaposed pendent wipers 42 having their upper endssecured to or looped about a transverse rod 42 extending across thechamber of the casing C, the upper ends of the wipers forming a commonridge u, and being disposed above the lower end of the belt 25 anddischarging the dirt thereonto. The wipers collectively form a wall or vapron along which the dirt is sweptby the brushes, the inner surface ofthe wipers conforming in general to the cylindrical surface described bythe ends of the brushes,

and engaging the brushes during the rotation of the brush cylinder. Thepurpose of a multiplicity of wipers is to allow for obstructions in thepath of the length of the brush cylinder as the machine is driven alongthe ground,- the wipers forming the front yielding wall of thebrush-cylinder short distance from the front vertical Wall of 1 thecasing so as to leave a discharge opening e. From the wall w leaddownwardly and forwardly a series ofdeflecting plates 43, 44, 45,diminishing progressively in length and inclined at an agle of substanft1al1y forty-five degrees, each plate being provided with a series ofvertical baffles 46 on .the rear face, or that facing the brush cylmderas shown (Fig. 1). Disposed above the wall lw at each end thereof aretransverse parallel shafts 47, 48, respectively, the former terminatingat one end in a pulley 49 over which passes the cross-belt 29 leadingfrom the pulley 28 on the shaft 24. The

opposite ends of the shafts 47, 48, are provided with suitable sprocketwheels 50 for operating the chains 51 forming the side members of asuitable endless scraper, the chains being connected by the transversescraper bars 52 which are wedge-shaped in -`5 cross-section, the sharpedges of the bars scraping along the upper surface of the plate lw whichserves as a collecting platform for the particles precipitated thereontofrom the upper portions of the casing C as hereinafter more fullydescribed. The crossbelt 29 will obviously impart; motion in the properdirection to the scraper belt composed of the chains 51 and cross-bars52.

Tapping, and leading from, the casing C at a point above the upper endof the slotted conveyer 25 (which by the way discharges into the trough18) are a series of uptakes or conduits 53, 54, 55, which discharge intothe fan casings F, F, the central conduit 54 i discharging into bothcasings, and the condults 53, 55, discharging each into its correspondmgcasing (Fig. 2). The fans of the fan caslngs are provided with a commonshaft 56 with a pulley P and are jointly menare' l driven by the crossbelt B leading from the pulley lP on the shaft 12 over the pulley P',the crossing of the belt being necessary so as to drive the fan bladesin proper dlrection to drawthe air into the fan casings from the uptakes53, 54, 55, and expel it from the eduction legs n of the fan casingsinto the housing or casing C, the fans discharging into the upper frontend of the casing C and driving the currents rearwardly over theplatform w. The roof of the casing or housing C is provided with aseries of nozzles 57 projecting above and below the roof, the lowerportions thereof being screw-threaded and having secured thereto therings 58 carrying filter bags or screens D, the upper ends of thenozzles being normally closed by hinged lids or valves 58. The bottomsof the bags terminate a suitable distance above the scraper belt (51,52). v

The periphery of the brush cylinder 41 is I provided. with a series ofparallel longitudinal slots or ways s spaced ninety degrees apart,through which are free to radially o erate t-he brush-backs or bars 59-to which t e bristles 60 are secured. The sides of the slots s arebounded by suitable stri s or angle bars 61 riveted to the inside o thecylinder shell, said angles 61 serving as guides for the brush backs 59aforesaid.

rllhe ends of the members 59 are formed with' 41, the inner ends of theseries of toggles be` ing pivotally coupled to the radial arms of theadjusting nuts or spiders 66 operating on the screw-threaded portions ofthe axial rotatable rod 67 traversing the trunnions 40, 40', the end ofthe rod projecting from the trunnion 40 terminating in a square orpolygonal -head r for the application of a suitable wrench or socket.The rod 67 traverses a tube or sleeve 68 secured within the cylinderbetween the bosses 69 on the cylinder heads, the walls of the sleevebeing provided with slots s for guiding the arms of the spider-nuts 66and constraining the latter to move longitudinally (without rotation)along the rod 67 when rotation is imparted to the latter, the rod atopposite ends being threaded respectively right and left so as to causethe members 66 to move along the rod simultaneously in oppositedirections. described that a turn of the rod 67 in one direction willcause the adjusting members 66 to approach one another, thereby closingvthe toggles and forcing the brush holdlery ofthe brush-cylinder.

lit will be seen from the connections'- toggles and drawing the brush4holders raf dially inward. rllhus the brushes may be carefully adjustedagainst the surface of the ground passed over; and as the brushes Wearaway they can always be maintained at the proper distancebeyond theperiph- ][n these adjustments of course, the blocks or slides 64 must befree to reciprocate in their slotted bearings 8, otherwise the toggles65 would bind and the adjustment would be impossi ble. 1n4 other" words,the blocks 64 .must move longitudinally with a corresponding movement ofthe nuts 66, to allow the toggles to close and o en. This is obviousfrom an. inspection of ig.. 6.

To sweep or wipe out the gutters, the following provision is made: Thetrunnions of the brush cylinder are mounted in brackets or hangers H.Secured to the trunnion 40 on the inside of the casing C is a gear Wheel70 (Fig. 9) which engages an idler 71, the latter in turn meshing with agear wheel 72 at the inner end of the inner section 73 of the gutterbroom shaft, the

outer section 73 of which is coupled to the shaft or unit when swunginto axial alinement. The shaft section 3 is'supported in a bearing 74formed with a ring 75 secured about an opening O in the casing wall,said ring serving to secure one end of a flexible hose orvneck of fabric76 whose opposite end is passed over and secured to, the adjacent end ofthe cylindrical gutter-brush carrier or cylinder 77, the inner sleeve 78of the brush to which the bristles 79 are attached, being secured to theshaft section 73 which has its bearings respectively in the outer headof the cylinder (77) and an inner terminal spider 8O which freelytraversable by air currents drawn into the casing C through the openbottom or slot O of the cylinder 77, through the spider, the hoseconnection 76 and opening O. When the cylinder 77 is swung outwardly tobring the shaft sections 73, 73, into alinement, it is secured rigidlyin said outwardly swung position by a V-shaped brace or bracket 81secured to angle-brackets 82, the base of the brace bearing against aboss or lstud 83 formed on the wall of the cylinder, the outer end ofthe cylinder being provided with a bolt 84 adapted to be passed throughthe lower terminal head 85 of a strut 86 whose which is passed throughthe base of the brace 81, a nut g securing the brace firmly \in motionas above pointed out.

cylinder 77, and uncoupling the upper end of the strut 86, whose lowerend by the Way lis freely rotatable about the bolt 84, it is l apparentthat the gutter-broom cylinder 77 (and its broom) when not in servicemay be swung' out of the way against the side of the machine about thebolt as a pivot or spindle, the/removal of the pin p allowing theshaft-section 73 to swing freely with the cylinder or housing 77. Thefree end of the strut or link 86 can then be passed over a pin 90 asshown in Fig. 2b

The operation will be readily 'understood lfrom the foregoingdescription, but briefly may be described as follows: Assuming the gears2 and 3 to be both in mesh with the gear 1 and the motor M running. Fromthe connections described, the sweeper broom or cylinder will rotate-asindicated `by the arrows,the machine will be propelled forward, and thescraper belt 51, 52, the conveyer belt `25, screw-conveyer 17 and thefan blades in the fan casings F will all be set As the machine advances,the heavy dirt will be swept along the apron formed by the w-ipers 42,over the ridge u onto the conveyer belt 25, the slats 25 of which willassist in carrying the material discharged onto the conveyer, over theupper roller 26, the material dropping into the trough 18 whence it isconveyed by the screw conveyer into the chute- 19 from which it dropsinto the bag or receptacle R. The air currents circulating as fullyindicated by the arrows in Fig. 1, will cause a constant flow of airrearward from the-fans (or from the casings F) above the Aplatform w',then downward through the passage-way e, then under the sweeper broom,then upward above the belt 25 toward the intakes of the flues 53, 54,55. The air currents thus circulating will induce a current to How fromthe gutter-broom cylinder 77 through the hose section 76, opening O,into the casing C (or more properly the immediate housing of the mainsweeper broom 41) .the dirt and dust from said gutter-broom being thusdrawn into the main casing C where it is disposed of in conjunction withthe sweepings of the large broom 41. The lighter particles drawn by theair currents' are caused to impinge more or less against the delectingplates 43, 44, 45, and their baffles 46, and are in a measureprecipitated onto the conveyer 25 by which they are conveyed to thetrough 18 as already described. The still lighter particles or dust aredrawn into the region of the casing C above the platform W where after 1impinging against the filters or screens D, they precipitate onto theplatform fw from which they areA scraped by the scraper rods 52 of thescraper conveyer 51, and allowed to drop into the trough 18 from whichthe are conducted with the rest of the materlal into the bag R. Shouldit be desired to reduce the ressure of air in the region about the platorm w', one or more of the gates'or valves 58 may be thrown open 1nwhich event a part of the air in thel casing C would percolate throughthe bags D and nozzles'57 into the atmosphere, any fine dustaccompanying the air being intercepted by the bags before the airdischarges into the atmosphere. By opening a gate or valve 58communication is at once established between the interior of the casingC and the atmosphere through the meshes of the screens D, whereby theressure of the air in the upper regions o the casing may be varied andthe circulation through the casing nicely regulated.

Practically no dust is discharged into the atmosphere under thearrangement above described, and wetting or iushing of the streets isunnecessary. Should it be desired to propel the machine withoutoperating the broom and the other moving parts of the sweeper, theoperator simply disconnectsthe gear 3 from the gear 1 by a propermanipulation of the lever L. Features shown but not alluded to are wellknown in the art and require no description in the present connection.

I may 'of course depart from the details here shown without in anywiseaffectingthe nature or spirit of my invention.

Having described my invention what I claim is: l

1. In a street sweeper, a suitable vehicle, a casing mounted thereon, arotary brush at the bottom of the casing operating to sweep the surfacetraveled over by the vehicle, a suitable receptacle on the vehicle, aconveyer interposed between the receptacle and brush for supplyingmaterial to said receptacle, means for circulating currents of air inthe casing past the brush for carrying over the lighter particles, meansfor causing a partial precipitation of said lighter particles onto theconveyer, a collecting platform for receiving the balance of the lighterparticles, and means for removing the accumulations on said platform.

2. In a street sweeper, a suitable vehicle, a casing mounted thereon, arotary brush at the bottom of the casing operating to sweep the surfacetraveled over by the vehicle, a suitable receptacle on the vehicle, aconveyer interposed between the receptacle and brush for supplyingmaterial to said receptacle, means for circulating currents of air inthe casing past the brush for carrying over the lighter particles, meansfor causing a partial precipitation of said li hter particles onto theconveyer, a gutter room operated in conjunction with the sweeper brushaforesaid, and means for causing the material swept by the gutter-broomto be drawn into the casing in response to the ail" currents circulatingtherein.

3. In a street sweeper of the character described, a casing, a brush atthe bottom thereof for sweeping the surface passed over by the sweeper,a receptacle, means for conducting the sweepings to the receptacle,means for causing currents`4 of air to circulate through the casingaround and under the brush for assisting the sweepings toward thereceptacle, a series of deflecting plates and bafflesfor causing apartial precipitation of the lighter particles onto the conducting meansaforesaid, a platform superposed above the deflecting platesfor`collecting the remainder of the light particles, a traveling memberfor scraping'the accumulations on the platform toward the receptacle,and means for regulating the air pressure in the casing in the regionabove the platform.

4. ln a street sweeper of the character described, a casing, a verticalpartition wall removed from the rear wall of the casing and terminatinga suitable distance fromthe top and bottom of the casing, a horizontalplatform leading from the partition toward the opposite wall of thecasing and terminating .a suitable distance therefrom, a sweeper broomat the bottom of the casing below the partition wall aforesaid, a fan atthe end. of the casing opposite the partition discharging air into thespace above the platform, air conduits leading from the space in thecasing below the platform aforesaid to the fan, suitable deflectingplates leading downwardly from the platform toward the conduits leadingto thelfan, bames leading from the deflecting plates on the sides facingthe sweeper broom, a trough, and a conveyer conducting the dischargesfrom the sweeper broom and the finer particles precipitated thereon bythe baffles and deflecting plates, into the trough. y

lln testimony whereof ll aiiiX my signature, in presence of twowitnesses.

cani., e. rnonrson'.

